1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to chemical compositions useful for fabricating safety cushions, mats formed from an assembly of such safety cushions and anchor for securing such mat to the ground. More particularly, the safety cushion and mat assembly meet and exceed the ASTM Standard Specification F1292-91 for impact attenuation of surface systems under and around equipment located in playgrounds, roof-top recreational areas, running tracks (indoor and outdoor), health club, aerobic dance facilities, veterinary hospitals, gymnasium or the like.
As used herein, the term "safety cushion" means a shock attenuating coverings for floor and ground surface that can be used to reduce the threat of danger to a person falling off equipment by reducing the impact force to the head to less than 200 g's from a drop height of up to twelve feet.
As used herein, the term "mat" means an assembly of individual safety cushions which are interlocked together in such a manner to cover a surface of a rectangular, circular, oval, L's, T's, crosses or other geometrical shapes.
As used herein, the term "around equipment" means the area under and surrounding equipment established as protection from falls from equipment.
As used herein, the term "acceleration" means the time rate change of velocity.
As used herein, the term "deceleration" means the time rate of reduction of velocity.
As used herein, the term "g" means acceleration into gravity at the earth's surface at sea level (32 ft/s (9.8 m/s)).
As used herein, the term "g-max" means the multiple of "g" that represents a maximum deceleration experienced during an initial impact.
As used herein, the term "headform" means the striking part of a testing apparatus.
As used herein, the term "impact attenuation" means the ability of a surface system to reduce and dissipate the energy of an impacting body.
As used herein, the term "drop height" is the vertical distance of the headform above the safety cushion from which the headform is accelerated under gravity before impacting the safety cushion.
2. Description of Background Art
Shock-absorbing safety cushions and mat assemblies are greatly needed in many applications where equipments are located, such as in school yards and playgrounds. In these areas, severe injuries have been caused to persons by losing foothold from an equipment and by falling from play apparatus onto a hard ground surface, such as an asphalt or concrete surface. As a result, many efforts are being made to find an improved surface covering for playgrounds, recreational and industrial floors or the like, which will give protection against such injuries.
Indeed, the Consumer Product Safety Commission has determined that the risk of serious injury due to a head-first fall is minimal when the amount of force the head absorbs is 200 g's or less.
A child landing on asphalt from a height of up to twelve feet would impact with a force of several thousand g's. In fact, hitting asphalt from a height of only two inches incurs a g-force of over 300.
Various types of surface coverings have been attempted to solve this problem. Such efforts include mats made of resilient material, rubber granules or ground up tires, but none, prior to the present invention, was able to reduce the impact force of a headform to less than 200 g's from a drop height of up to twelve feet.
Thus, there is a continuous and urgent need for chemical composition and design for a safety cushion and mat assembly that can be used to reduce the impact g-force to the head to less than 200 g's from a drop height of up to twelve feet.
Moreover, a need also exists for chemical composition and design for anchoring system to secure the safety cushion and mat assembly to the ground, thereby reducing the danger of slippage and theft by having the safety cushion or mat assembly pulled up.